Action 212 Banned, Labor Demos Can: Is There A Political Element?

The group of women was asked to go home by the police guarding Kebon Siri (Photo: Rizky Sulistio/VOI)

JAKARTA - Today, December 2, DKI Jakarta is full of excitement for the Reunion 212 action. Because they did not get permission to hold the demonstration, some of the masses who had not been present were disbanded by the authorities. Some of the masses protested this ban, because if the problem was crowds, why were the labor demonstrations yesterday allowed, while their actions were not.

This afternoon the joint forces were busy disbanding the 212 Reunion action crowd that had gathered in the partitions of Jalan Kebon Sirih and Jalan H. Agus Salim, Central Jakarta. The mob forced their way in but were chased away by officers who had been on standby since Wednesday December 1st.

The number of officers who disbanded the Reunion 212 crowd was quite large. Until finally, the action participants one by one left the location, headed towards the HI roundabout, while occasionally chanting takbir.

The Director of Binmas Polda Metro Jaya Kombes Pol Badya Wijaya accompanied by the Head of Ops of the Central Jakarta Metro Police AKBP Guntur Muhammad Tariq carried out the disbandment because it was considered to have caused a crowd. "Go back to your respective homes, please. Once again, ladies and gentlemen, not to gather. Okay, let's take pictures first," he said.

The Chief of Army Staff (KSAD) General TNI Dudung Abdurachman also had the opportunity to directly monitor the activities of the 212 Reunion action which began to be attended by the participants of the action. Dudung was accompanied by Pangdam Jaya Major General Mulyo Aji and Kapolda Metro Jaya Inspector General Fadil Imran.

Despite being repulsed by the authorities, the Reunion 212 crowd had time to express their aspirations. At least three demands were made by the General Chairperson of the 212 Alumni Brotherhood, Slamet Maarif, during his speech in the command car on Jalan Wahid Hasyim, Central Jakarta.

The mass of the 212 reunion that was repulsed by the authorities (Diah/VOI)

First, the participants of the Reunion 212 action demanded an end to the criminalization of ulama. However, he did not mention who the party that got the criminalization was.

Second, Slamet rejected the disbandment of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) after the narrative of the disbandment of MUI spread because one member of his fatwa commission was arrested by Densus 88. Third, Slamet invited the masses to reject corrupt practices. He also highlighted allegations of corruption in the PCR test procurement business.

When the officers pushed back, the masses protested. They compared their action to a demonstration of workers who were given a permit even though they were both in crowds.

One of the participants in the 212 Reunion protesting was Halimah. "Yesterday the labor demonstration was okay, sir. It was also a crowd. We just had a reunion, a friendship," he said. So what is the response of the police?

Reason for not being allowed

Responding to this, the Head of Public Relations of the Polda Metro Jaya Kombes E Zulpan said that the permit was granted by the police. However, the participants of the Reunion 212 action did not receive a recommendation from the COVID-19 Task Force. In fact it is one of the conditions for holding an action.

"It's not only the Regional Police who have this view. Please ask the Governor, the DKI COVID-19 Task Force, why didn't they issue a recommendation," Zulpan told reporters, Thursday, December 2.

Zulpan said that the Reunion 212 action was not allowed, not because the previous years were violent. According to him, the main reason the 212 Reunion was banned is because Jakarta is currently still experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic situation. "No, this is because of the COVID-19 situation."

According to Zulpan, the permit for crowds at the Horse Statue is not under the Polda Metro Jaya but under the Regional Government. "The local government doesn't issue a permit."

In addition, Zulpan said Reunion 212 was also rejected by the management of the Az Zikra Mosque, Sentul, Bogor. "That it is not only the rejection of recommendations in the jurisdiction of the Polda Metro Jaya or the COVID-19 task force, it turns out that at the Az Zikra mosque in Bogor they also did not get permission," said Zulpan.

In contrast to the Reunion 212 action which was not granted a permit, the mass demonstration of workers had progressed smoothly in the Horse Statue area, Gambir, Central Jakarta. The workers are members of the Indonesian Trade Union Alliance Congress (KASBI). They demanded that the highest government issue a decree on living wages.

Labor demonstrations in the Horse Statue area, Jakarta (Photo: Rizky Sulistio/VOI)

Is there a political element?

Seeing this difference in attitude, political observer from Al Azhar University Indonesia, Ujang Komarudin, assessed that there might be a political element. The reason, according to Ujang, was that some of the participants in the 212 Reunion held a banner that President Joko Widodo had resigned.

"Perhaps there is a political element. Maybe if the workers demand wages. Meanwhile, PA 212 has a banner of Jokowi Resigning," Ujang told VOI.

According to Ujang, the mass demonstration of workers demands rights. Meanwhile, the participants of the 212 Reunion are part of the party that is in opposition to the government.

"The workers are demanding rights. Not the government's opposition. Meanwhile, the PA 212 group is part of the party that is in opposition to the government."

Meanwhile, in terms of political pressure, according to Ujang, the mass of workers and the masses of the 212 Reunion action are indeed different. "In terms of numbers, there are a lot of workers. But the number who took to the streets was a lot of mass 212," he said.

*Read other information about REUNI 212, read other interesting articles from Ramdan Febrian Arifin.

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